... well (clears throat) ... being the humble fellow I am, I would not go so far as to say I was a 'brilliant' boy soprano, but, in my salad days, I was on occasion - in fact, on a number of occasions - invited to perform for the local gentry and other discriminating audiences. When my voice changed, I laid back for a few years, but by the time I was nineteen or so, I started performing again, getting into the folk thing. I don't think I was ever accused of becoming a 'beautiful baritone', or a beautiful anything for that matter - in fact, my singing voice was once described (by me) as a cross between those of Popeye and Long John Silver - but it was once or twice sufficient to attract the fond attention of the beautiful ....

I think that most people who love singing as children, continue to love singing all their lives. If they're child prodigies, there's a good chance they won't be as prodigious as adults - but most will keep singing. I was an alto, never a boy soprano, but I have loved singing since I joined choir in fifth grade at the age of 12 or so. I was never what one would call "brilliant," but Sister John Bosco the choir director said I was "really sharp." Until I reached the age of 40, I took that as a compliment.

It is a myth. Boy singers are usually selected for their musicality, good ear, motoric talent and diligence. Since all this together is rare enough, the beauty of sound is usually considered sufficient.

Well-trained adult singers are not quite as rare, so that the sound quality, which mainly depends on the physiology of the skull and respiratory organs, makes the difference.

To become a well-trained adult, it certainly helps if you had some training as a child. Nevertheless, both sexes must rediscover their voices from decade to decade.

Vincent Cole is an opera singer and voice teacher from my city, and his talent was discovered in during boyhood. He told us at a meeting that it is important for a boy to keep singing during "the break."

That's only distantly related to this topic, but I thought people might be interested.